Neil Ferguson (28 November 1945 – 14 July 2016) was an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

er who played with

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

in the

Victorian Football League The Victorian Football League (VFL) is an Australian rules football league in Australia serving as one of the second-tier regional semi-professional competitions which sit underneath the fully professional Australian Football League (AFL). It ...

(VFL). Ferguson came to Hawthorn from Melbourne High School and was 18 when he made his VFL debut in 1964. He played as a ruckman but towards the end of his time at Hawthorn was also used to good effect up forward, kicking 19 goals in 1968 and 21 goals in 1969.AFL Tables: Neil Ferguson
/ref> The second half of his football career was spent in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

, with five years at

East Fremantle East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

and a season with

Claremont Claremont may refer to: Places Australia *Claremont, Ipswich, a heritage-listed house in Queensland * Claremont, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart * Claremont, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth ** Claremont Football Club, West Australian Footba ...

. He was the first ruckman in East Fremantle's 1974 premiership winning side. Ferguson died on 14 July 2016, aged 70. Ferguson won the 1983

Ovens & King Football League The Ovens & King Football Netball League is a minor country Australian rules football league based in North-Eastern Victoria in the vicinity of Wangaratta and more recently Benalla. History The ''Ovens & King Football League'' was formed on ...

best and fairest, the Baker Medal, when playing for the

Bright Football Club Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Neil 1945 births Australian rules footballers from Victoria (state) Hawthorn Football Club players East Fremantle Football Club players Claremont Football Club players 2016 deaths